Bad news for bacon lovers: Pork prices to rise sharply as 10% of British pig farmers will be 'forced to leave' by Christmas

If you love bacon sandwiches look away now. The price of pork is set to rise significantly over the coming months as a combination of new EU farming laws and the soaring price of feed will hit the industry.

A number of European producers are expected to quit the pig farming industry ahead of new laws being implemented around animal welfare in January 2013.

It will mean that those with a taste for bacon or sausage sandwiches are almost certain to see the price of both ingredients soar.

Pork life: As stricter EU rules come into play, the number of British pig farmers is expected to fall, hitting production

It comes as a number of UK producers –
who account for 40 per cent of domestic bacon sales - already face a
battle to stay in business due to supermarket price wars and pig feed
costs rising.

The National Pig Association (NPA) has warned that farmers who are currently responsible for as much as 10 per cent of all British pig production will be forced to leave the industry by Christmas.

As a result, supermarket shelves could see an influx of pork from countries outside of Europe.

Dr Zoe Davies, NPA general manager, told the Observer: ‘In the past, the UK was 40 per cent self-sufficient for pork and 60 per cent came from elsewhere.

‘But that is no longer going to be the case. We could soon see pork being imported from South America or Thailand if British producers go out of business.’

The rises come after the worst drought in the U.S. for half a century destroyed one-sixth of the country’s expected corn crop over the past month.

Demand for wheat has increased dramatically as a result, with prices rising by a third in London and Paris – and consumers have been warned bakers will be forced to increase the price of a loaf to cover their increased supply costs.

But a sharp rise in pig feed prices have been seen before – there were spikes in 2008 and 2011 due to poor weather.

Dr Davies adds: ‘What we are seeing now is a fundamental shift in grain prices going upwards.’

Estimates claim that if British pig farmers continue to leave the industry, around 2.3million British sausages and 1.5million rashers of British bacon will disappear from supermarket shelves.

Welfare changes meant egg prices have risen 75%

And experts believe the partial ban on sow
stalls, due to take effect throughout Europe from 1 January 2013, could
have a similar impact on the EU pig meat market.

BPEX, the body that represents the
interests of pig producers, has warned that pork production is likely to
fall between five per cent and 10 per cent with the
changes and retailers will face substantial price increases as a result.

Only three EU member states have reported that they comply with the new legislation, while several countries have indicated they expect a large number of their producers to stop breeding pigs or allow their herds to run down.

Increase could result in the 'Hamburglar' effect

Back in April, retail experts explained that a steep rise in the price of meat is resulting in criminal gangs stealing it to order.

As a result of the theft increase, major supermarkets are considering security changes, such as moving tagging operations to the factory production lines, rather than the shop floor, to make sure all meat products had a security alert tag on.

And with the price of bacon and sausages - a staple breakfast in millions of households - set to soar, there could be a rise in the number of people stealing pork products to order.